God Bless Synergy for finally figuring out what to do in the boardroom: shut up and let the asshole hang himself! Every time one of them spoke, I held my breath. Shut up, shut up, it's Brent, shut up!

Sooo very glad he's off my TV.

BTW, I thought Gold Rush's billboard looked like ass. Trump obviously thought so, too. And why did both teams feel the need to get their models off the street? What the hell?

What was up with the ACWO (Aspiring Corporate Weasel Orgy) going on in Sean's room?!

It was nice to see Brent go.

Also impressive, Charmaine, who appears to be quite competent. Sean OTOH, not so much.

Well Brent got fired for being fat... and not knowing when to keep his mouth shut.

At least Donald admitted that he isn't exactly thin himself, but it is generally expected that business professionals will listen to the message, not judge based entirely upon the attractiveness of the presenter.

In the end, I'm more convinced than ever that Brent was a ringer. All of this proclamations sounded scripted...and his "you won't have Dick Nixon to kick around any longer" cab-ride speech was phony.

Sweet dancin' Jebus, that was satisfying. Right down to the delusional taxi confessional.

I was worried that someone likeable might get fired, 'cause there seemed to be plenty of blame to go 'round. And I thought they had exempted Brent by not giving him anything to do... except they let him talk in the boardroom! Brilliant!

And Ivanka rules.

Neither idea was anything to get excited over, but definitely liked Gold Rush's idea better then Synergy. The next generation, they would have been better off going with Brent's idea. Of course they might have won with that idea and then they wouldn't have been able to get rid of Brent.

Now this means that Synergy will be one big happy family right. Doesn't look like it. I think Andrea is holding a grudge on Roxanne for not kissing her butt.

My opinion of Andrea is going down fast. If you are so successful honey, why the hell are you on this show?

...THANK GOD!

BTW Charmaine: You did not win because you were more creative. You won because you chose not to clutter your billboard with too many words in different fonts.

Brent, Brent, Brent...You fell into one of the three classic Reality TV Bunders.

1. Going on Survivor not knowing how to make fire.

2. Going on The Amazing Race not knowing how to drive a stick shift.

3. Going on The Apprentice and not knowing that when no one is actively attacking you in the boardroom, you should sit there and keep your big mouth SHUT.

It wasn't that you were fat. It wasn't that you had no social skills. It's was that you were just plain stupid.

Thank God they finally realized no one's watching for Brent.

Wow, Synergy's ad was ass. My favorite craptastic touch was the inexplicable heart that framed the picture. WTF?

God, what a loathsome bunch of people Synergy is. Personally, I thought it was INCREDIBLY offensive to tell Brent he was too much of a fatty to present. It was a low blow and it was bullshit. Well it looks like the popular kids got their way and got rid of the fat kid. I can't stand any of them. Andrea and Tammy are both fucking sickening.

OMG Brent, do the words "Shut the fuck up, Brent" mean nothing to you? Why start a battle in the boardroom and draw all the attention to how annoying you are when you have the whole team there to gang up on you? Wait until you're in the final part of the boardroom and really need to fight for your life. Idiot talked himself right into that firing.

I was so proud of Sean for finally figuring out that there was no way they could blame Brent for the loss when they don't give him anything to screw up. Of course then Brent went and got himself fired.

And you know what, that bitch Tammy did call him too fat to do the presentation. Meanwhile skinny pretty boy Sean still screwed it up.

Both billboards sucked. And I don't get why they went with the young dad. Or why they have to snag people off the street.

I really hope no one from the original Synergy group makes it to the final four. Well no one but Roxanne, she's the only one I can stand.

Also I can't get over Charmaine crying in the bedroom. Is this a weekly feature now?

Grandpa George nailed it. Brent was a disruptive influence, and IMO that's why he was fired. Synergy might could've worked more effectively without him. Of course, I missed the first 40 minutes, but my fellow bitches filled me in.

Andrea is growing on me, but I'm not totally sold.

Ivanka owned. Loved the way she broke it down for Brent. Fire Trumpy and replace him with Ivanka!

Andrea thinks she's the best thing ever. She'd fit right in with Trump.

OK, was that supposed to be the Apprentice version of a three-way?

Brent, shut up. And thank you, Mr. Trump, for shutting him up for us. But still, Brent, shut up.

Bryce, it was YOUR idea. "Well, it wasn't well executed... fnur fnur fnur...." Just say the idea sucked. Although in all fairness, I think the problem was that there was no connection between the graphics and the photo groups. One had no idea what the other was doing.

I wanted to throw my shoe at the TV when Charmaine acted all freaky and insulted at the beginning when Lenny mentioned that Theresa was fired because she didn't bring Charmaine into the final boardroom. However she did "step up" (forgive me for using that horribly hackneyed term) and I think I can forgive her for that episode of snittiness. Did she really have no idea that her name would NOT be mentioned in that boardroom?

Oh, and because it can't be said enough.... Brent, shut up.

And I'm just wondering, why couldn't they go to a model agency to get their models? Did they have to hustle people off the street?

Wait, Trump fired the clown!? How could he fire the clown?

Without Brent, who will caper and dance for our amusement and pleasure? Who will provide the inflated sense of self-importance combined with a lack of ability so severe that even Joe-TV viewing audience can feel superior?

No Mr. Trump, bad call. We were to have Brent on our television screens to laugh at for many episodes to come.

I feel deprived.

I started thinking tonight Brent might be a plant. But now he's gone, so i guess not. How on earth did he ever get chosen for the show in the first place? I thought for a minute there he might survive the boardroom. He should have kept quiet.

Right firing, wrong time? I mean, he's not why they lost the task, but he's clearly divisive and a disruption. And what was that big pile of entitlement he unloaded in his cabterview? He was so deliberately offensive to everyone pretty much all the time.

As to getting their models off the street, I sort of assumed they weren't given a big budget to hire professionals. Or maybe Post has a policy of using non-professional models.

Good task, I thought.

ETA: yeah, what was that weird girls piled up on creepy British guy? That was so odd, and I sort of had banished it from my mind because....ew.

Brent hung himself I guess. But at the same time, I don't think the firing was fair. The way that Synergy just completely disregarded everything he said was ridiculous. Grownups should not act like that. I really hope Trump fires all of Synergy. Especially that nasty Andrea. I haven't wanted to take a hammer to someone's face this badly in a very, very long time. But she is just vile. And that yellow eyeshadow makes me hate her even more. She's so passive-aggressive and condescending. And the remark about how she's a multimillionaire and Brent wasn't, was really out of line and hitting below the belt. He's a lawyer. That counts for something lady.

I agreed with Trump that the dad/daughter combo looked more like a couple. "Dad" was hot.

Lenny actually annoyed me this episode. He's lost his charm

And finally, Ivanka is a strange looking duck, with some awful fashion sense, but my god she's got a good head on her shoulders. I wish she were around more often.

I started out watching this episode thinking what I've thought in previous weeks - although I find Brent annoying, the team is marginalizing him before even giving him a chance to prove (or hang) himself. However, any shards of sympathy I may have had for him were pretty much destroyed by his hateful, bizarrely immature comments and his extremely passive-aggressive style towards the PM. If he had actually accepted his rejection with the grace and team spirit that he seemed to show to the PM's face, rather than take every opportunity out of earshot to bash her and personally attack her, I would have been leading the "Brent got a raw deal" bandwagon. He hung himself tonight, and I have no sympathy for him anymore.

And with Brent gone, the sexual tension running throughout Synergy can be given free rein!

Between the corporate weasel orgy, the "I love you" during the graphics session, Tammy and Andrea's couch discussion, and the boardroom love-fest, I'm seriously wondering how Synergy's going to do the next task without jumping into each others' beds mid-competition.

And it's nice to see Brent give a good reason for his firing. I was worried Trump was eventually going to fire him for being fat. But firing him for being an idiotic loudmouth is just fine.

I sincerely felt sorry for Brent, but he really did hang himself in the boardroom. Now that Synergy's scapegoat has been canned, let's see if they can pull it together. I have my doubts, especially since Andrea's ego couldn't accept the reality that some of her teammates don't believe that she's "all that".

Now....Gold Rush (or Charmaine, in general) did a good job. Char knew that Trump had her in the crosshairs since she was not brought to the last boardroom, so I was glad to see her prove her worth. She kept cool, was decisive (amidst all the backpedaling, ala Bryce) and demonstrated some of the strongest leadership I've seen on this show.

You have to really work at being an asshole to be a Brent. It's not just a personality, it's an avocation.

Grape Nuts? I still remember a stand up comedian doing a routine where he said the only thing in the world harder than a diamond were the grapes in Grape Nuts cereal. Dessicated fruit is the future of cereal? Thanks, I will stick with the Captain, and sprinkly on some psyllium if needs be.

And what was the threesome (using the term loosely) on team synergy. Camp Sleepaway?

Ivanka has botoxed her chin, I am sure of it.

So, were the actors/models set ups? I am thinking set up.

Even when they're having an orgy, the Apprentices still manage to work in the phrase "at the end of the day."

I doubt it. Brent may have been annoying but he was just a scapegoat. Everytime they lose, it never had anything to do with him. It was because they just sucked.

The heart graphic kept making me think of Cheerios. They've used that in their ads. Not the association I should be making, but if I drove past that billboard? I would have assumed it was a Cheerios ad - and THAT is the message that would have stuck.

Word. I hate Synergy. As dysfunctional as the other team (wow, what a season. Can you tell I'm impressed), at least they lack the mean girls tendencies to be completely evil. I hope Synergy goes down in flames just for being such total assholes. Brent definitely had his problems, but he didn't act like that until people were just ridiculously rude to him. I doubt many could control their temper in that situation. And Andrea (though we share the same name) just needs to fucking die. She can't be as successful as she thinks she is if she's on The Apprentice.

Grr. At this point I like Terek, Lenny, and Charmaine. Possibly Lee, but who knows. As soon as Lenny goes, I'm gone.

God, hate Andrea. HATE. So she didn't have to defend the graphics at all? Even though they were specifically mentioned as a weak point by the executives?

And no one had to discuss the choice of models. It was so painfully obvious the guy was too young when they were model shopping on the street, and I don't think I've ever been so glad to hear Trump talk as when he commented on that.

Brent was a mess and he needed to go if for no other reason than he wasn't contributing anything to the team at this point from being marginalized, and was the scapegoat for them each time. Yes, he was crazy, but they've been making plenty of mistakes without his involvement. I can't wait until they all crash and burn now, I have no love for anyone on Synergy at this point.

And what was with the whole fit-bodies-giving-the-presentation discussion? So a presentation is always supposed to be given by someone who fits the product demographic rather than based on expertise? I wonder if Trump considers that OK in the areas of race and gender, too.

Basically, Brent was a tool and really pointless to even have in the competition, but it's just been maddening watching Synergy use him as their excuse. I'm glad he's gone so that they'll have to come up with something different when they fail now, but I still would have liked to have seen more questioning regarding the task itself before he was fired.

I was actually kind of afraid The Hair would keep El Toolio around for comedic interest for another three weeks at least. Bye Brent, you smug, self-satisfied, puffed up dickwipe. Easily the wankiest candidate on any reality show in recent memory, with the possible exception of Shane, on Survivor. But man, this bunch of candidates is really nasty. Bitchy McSniperpants, the lot of 'em. What the hell, fire 'em all and start over.

What was that yellow eye shadow on Andrea? Good gracious that was hideous. And she never brushes her hair. But, that's not the point, right?
Anyone notice the exchange between Tarek and the girl they met on the street in the car? "We had to find a pretty girl on the street and we saw you like 10 seconds after we got out of the car so you should feel....honored." The girl was like, "Uh, thanks."

HALLELUJAH! Brent be GONE! And PLEEEEEZE, Mark Burnett, do NOT bring him back with the "Final Task" teams! America has had quite enough of that fat bastard. I'm a big, fat, suit-wearing businessman myself, and I declare that Brent is an EMBARASSMENT to our kind!

Fercryyinoutloud, how many times did he say "they didn't GIVE ME..." in the LoserCab? Maybe because you didn't do anything to EARN IT, asshole. Take your shitty haircut and go home.

That was one of the ugliest hours of television that I've ever seen. I don't think that Brent was a ringer, and I agree with everything that was said to him in the boardroom. But I also think that NBC, Trump, and the rest cast him hoping for this kind of humiliation. They picked a heavy guy with no social skills for just this purpose. I don't think that I've felt quite that way about any candidate before. Sure Markus, Sam, Heidi and others were cast for the way their personalities would come across--but this kind of reminded me of what the boys did to Piggy on the beach in Lord of the Flies. A more apt analogy might be feeding someone to the lions in the Roman forum to entertain the masses. It was ugly.

I was a bit behind, watching on a dvr, and fast-forwarded through the whole pick models on the street bit once I saw what was going on--that was a horrible thing to do!!! Yes, single young lady, get into a van with a bunch of strangers because they tell you that you will be model. What a message to send! Whose bright idea was that? The fact that both teams did it make me think that it was a part of the task.

Agreed, I thought Gold Rush's billborad was least crappiest but it still wasn't done well. Synergy's just was so boring and what was with that grade school powerpoint presentation that wasn't even done well? Would a billboard viewer really be privy to that?

I'm very glad Brent was fired, I thought he had all these points in the boardroom to make when all he did was act like a 6 year old. "I was a bad leader? You were a bad leader!" take that Andrea. He really dug his own grave in there. I was hoping that in response to the accusation that no one who has met him liked him that he would say 'but my Mom says I'm cool' but sadly it didn't happen.

I didn't know it was that easy to pick up women. Hey I've got a dark, unmarked van with tinted windows. Can I use you for two hours?" Seriously, what was going with that? Couldn't they have just used team members? Maximize resources and all that.

Sean's got game. I bet it's the accent. Damn British, plus he was right about their billboard. It looked like a cereal box, not an ad.

Yeah I was little confused about that. I kinda tuned out during the explanation of the task so I thought they did have to make a cereal box and a billboard.

The IP lawyer in me would have been particularly annoyed had Synergy won. Stealing General Mills's heart on yellow background for an ad campaign would open up a nasty litigation fight, no matter how well it might have worked. I'm kind of surprised none of the businessmen or lawyers pointed out how close it was.

(I don't know enough about trademark/copyright law to know how good General Mills's case might have been--but all else being equal, good businessmen don't open themselves up to even loser lawsuits.)

What was up with the threesome on Sean's bed? That was just weird. I hate almost every single person on Synergy except Roxanne. Sean is a smarmy stuttering idiot, Andrea is a stuck up bitch who feels the need to throw around how much money she makes. Plus honey it's called shampoo use it. The stringy hair is disgusting. I wish Trump would have a mass firing I can't stand looking at any of them! Now that Brent is gone who will become the scapegoat? I'm going with Roxanne. I am hating Bryce more and more each episode. If Lenny wants to put pepper on HIS food that's his freaking business! Bryce needs to unclenched his anis and relax. What a tightass. I think Lenny only said three words this episode. Done, simple and Vodka. HA!

They gave Brent *nothing* to do, yet he's the reason why they lost ?? I disagree, and as silly as his ideas may have been, at least he tried. Too bad, I would have liked to have seen him as PM, just to see if he could have backed up all that smack he was dishing.

I agree, watching the whole team gang up on Brent just strikes me as something really primal and repulsive. Honestly after watching this show for years all it's done is make me despise human nature. The way people treat other people . . yikes. Okay either you marginalize him or you blame him for everything that's gone wrong, but you can't do both. And Andrea's bitchy little comment about being worth millions while he only makes $50,000 a year? Yeah I can't wait to see her get it because the editors obviously hate her.

On a positive note I am pleasantly surprised with Charmaine. I loved how she kept her cool and was able to focus on a good idea and go with it.

And Ivanka, Ivanka, she is just my idol.

Me too. In fact I was telling Mr Lessa tonight that when I think of a cereal for all generations, I think Cheerios. Its one of the first things you give to babies, most kids will eat at least one version and when you grow up, you eat it to help lower your cholesterol and blood pressure.

Even when Trump was telling the winning team that they were going to cook with Jean-Georges, the sly editors still had to do a cutaway to a disappointed Brent. What will they do without the fat guy anymore?

Why was Brent chosen for this show in the first place? Did Trump just regain his sight?
IOW, Brent was fired because his team ganged up on him, because he didn't fit their team self-image.

Brent had ZERO---ZEE-RO---to do with the failure of his team at this task. HE was a trouble-maker? In what way? Oh, wait; he ventured ideas. Because the cluttered lettering with the "old man who doesn't look old" was such a BRILLIANT concept. The team members practically rolled their eyes and sighed dramatically every time Brent even said word one.
And if it's the "cumulative effect" that's to be the criterion, well, now what, eh? (Tarek, I'm looking at you.)

On another note: What did Lenny do? I mean, besides adding CAYENNE PEPPER to chef's dish.

I can't say that I disagree with Brent's firing, and Ivanka was dead on the money about his (lack of) interpersonal skills -- as he so abundantly displayed in that boardroom self-destruction. However that firing just left a bad taste in my mouth -- do they really expect us to believe that the team never discussed getting rid of Brent, or that there wasn't a strategy to say nothing bad about anyone and let Brent hang himself?

At least two outright lies by my count -- that there was no conspiracy to get rid of Brent, and that graphics weren't anyone's particular responsibility (hey, Andrea, integrity and accountability mean anything to you? . . . and by the way, drug lords have lots of money, but that doesn't make them any less skanky).

Seems to me that the producer's are being very heavy handed with their storyline scripting this season.

Brent didn't lose Synergy the task, but then no one person cost them this task. And it was relatively close. Brent lost for the same reason Summer lost in week 1--giving unsolicited opinions in the boardroom is like painting a target on your face. I know the cliche is "target on your back", but you can occasionally survive a shot to the back.

[Fercryyinoutloud, how many times did he say "they didn't GIVE ME..." in the LoserCab? Maybe because you didn't do anything to EARN IT, asshole. Take your shitty haircut and go home.]
Amen, hallelujah, brother. At the moment that Brent said that he hated Tammy's face, I lost all sympathy for him. Every time someone disagrees with him, or tries to persuade him to let go of what preoccupation he's hanging onto--or basically, says "no" to him--he responds with bitterness and hatred. As though everyone else was put into the world to make him feel good, and when they don't make him feel good, they've "betrayed" him. Not that they ever owed him any loyalty to begin. His weight is a side issue, that he uses to make others feel sorry for him. Or so it seems to me. What a head case. Brent, get yourself a counselor. Only not Theresa . . .

Brent should never have been on the show in the first place. And his shrill grandstanding and false bravado were annoying even before tonight, so I'm not crushed that he was tossed.

But really. This has to be one of the most pathetic displays of this show yet. Last week, Trump let's Theresa drag in Tarek and Lenny and never actualy determines what went wrong on the task and who was responsible until Charmaine and Bryce are safe back up in the suite. This week Trump simpers coyly about how the team didn't lose by much. Much ?!?!? Really? Much. Like the loss ratio between Gold Rush and Synergy on the first very task that had Trump bleating like a billy goat in rut trying to cross a bridge about how horrifically bad Tarek was as PM, wasn't much? In a subjective task there is win or lose. No much about it. And the cereal execs clearly would not have used Synergy's ad. It wasn't even a Donny Deutsch "you both suck" judgement.

And while I do agree that in this world certain superficial assessments have to be made and realized no matter how "unfair" they are. So just as I think shooting down Brent as a spokesperson was valid and wise (and not just because of his form -- he sucks at public speaking) so too would I not have Sean giving the presentation when it is trying to focus on a longstanding heritage of an American cereal. Plus the guy has all the presence of the British fop villain in a WE Sunday Afternoon Romance telepic starring Jane Seymour.

I do think Trump was baiting Brent and brent fell right into it. From the moment Ivanka makes a huge point of asking Brent what his task is to the way Trump softpedaled the fact that Synergy did not have a winning billboard. Period. Forget what Gold Rush had. Just look at Synergy's. The had, for all intents and purposes, a bland twenty year old cereal box on the billboard.

Agreed. I loved it when she was talking to Brent about his lack of skills with a group. They should add a fourth chair at that side of the table, or just replace Donald with either George, Carolyn or Ivanka.

Lenny and his Russian-ness will fill that void.

Yup. Brent didn't do anything to make his team lose, but someone who can't get along with the team doesn't have the skills. A good businessman should at least be tolerated by those he works with.

If Brent would have just kept his mouth shut he might still be on the team. He started it, so he only has himself to blame. All he had to say when asked about the PM was "I didn't think she did that great" or something to that effect. What could they have blamed on him? It wasn't like he did anything at all. But instead he opens his mouth and the crummy billboard with the awful graphics ends up not even being an issue.

I don't like her, either. Andrea and Tammy treated Brent like shit during the task, and Andrea did a shitty job with the graphics. And even if it's true that she's worth multi-millions or whatever, what a snotty thing for her to say to Brent, really. Of course, then Trump echoed it, too. Andrea doesn't seem to have much substance, since she is ALL ABOUT the money.

Then again, Brent brought a lot of this on himself. I just don't think they should be rewarded for marginalizing him, I think their screw-ups should have been brought to light as well. Especially with Andrea's smug attitude, she will NEVER admit to any mistakes in anyone but Brent. Sure, she will have to from now on, but she won't recognize anything that anyone else did wrong during the time that Brent was on the team. That's what I don't like about her.

And, she lost the task for this team. She and Tammy did.

[ETA]:

I wondered this, too. If someone came up to me on the streets of New York, there is no way I would go anywhere with them. Furthermore, sure they had cameras on, but how did the teams know that the people they were picking up were anything resembling normal? Why not just let their fingers do the walking and call an agency? I just don't get it.

The sad thing is that when they described their concepts I was certain their fates were settled--but with the opposite team losing. I could see the "not your father's Oldsmo-cereal" appealing to moms who think it's just the thing to make a tween listen to them. And Bryce's idea (at least in my imagination) sucked...either evoking "New Grape Nuts, think of us when you binge" or those old cookie dough-sport drink commercials from SNL.

I guess concept isn't everything (even if that was last week's lesson).